Lehtonen stopped MacKinnon on a breakaway midway through the second period and again on a rebound with 10 minutes left in the game.

“I didn’t love (MacKinnon’s) first period, just like the rest of our team,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said, “but he came hard in the last two periods. He was all around the net, he was hanging onto pucks and it wasn’t fancy plays.”

MacKinnon has scored only three goals this season.

“It was a tough start to the year,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay positive. I’ve got to be better.”

MacKinnon won 11 of 19 faceoffs in the first two periods. He was 5 for 12 in the third after Stars coach Lindy Ruff matched Cody Eakin, returning for his first game this season, with MacKinnon in the faceoff circle.

“MacKinnon was eating up (Radek) Faksa,” Ruff said, “so I looked to (Eakin) to kind of dig in and win a couple. I thought all night he did a good job.”

Oduya scored his first goal since last Dec. 17 on a slap shot from the left point that went in off Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie’s left knee at 8:15.

“I just close my eyes and shoot,” Oduya said. “I told Patty (Eaves) that I’m not like him, putting it top shelf every time. For me, it’s kind of shoot at the net and see what happens, and sometimes it goes in.”

Barely two minutes later, Ritchie scored from the slot on the power play after taking a pass from Devin Shore low in the left faceoff circle.

Eaves’ power-play goal from the right of the net followed rapid-fire passes from Spezza behind the net and Tyler Seguin high in the slot.

“I thought we played 20 minutes,” Ruff said. “Maybe a little more than that, until the short-handed goal. I’m frustrated with the short-handed goals we’ve been giving up, and I’m sick of it.”

Dallas has allowed four shorthanded goals this season.

MacKinnon’s goal with 7:54 left in the second came after he took Andreas Martinsen’s pass from the right corner just to the right of the net and beat Lehtonen. Two minutes earlier, Lehtonen had stopped MacKinnon on a breakaway at the end

The Avalanche pulled within a goal at 1:51 of the third when Grigorenko redirected MacKinnon’s shot from the right point into the right side of the net.